Methods and nodes for handling updated subscriber data

ABSTRACT

The embodiments herein relate to a method in a first mobility management node ( 108   a ) for handling updated subscriber data associated with a UE ( 101 ). The UE ( 101 ) is currently unreachable by the first mobility management node ( 108   a ). The first mobility management node ( 108   a ) receives, from a subscriber database ( 128 ), updated subscriber data associated with the UE ( 101 ). At least part of the updated subscriber data is modified. The first mobility management node ( 108   a ) determines that transmission of the updated subscriber data to a gateway node ( 110 ) should be postponed until the UE ( 101 ) has become reachable.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/893,482, filed Feb. 9, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,375,566, which is aContinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/511,187, filed Mar.14, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,992,663, which is a 35 U.S.C. § 371national phase filing of International Application No.PCT/EP2014/070705, filed Sep. 26, 2014, the disclosures of which arehereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments herein relate generally to a first mobility management node,a method in the first mobility management node, a second mobilitymanagement node and a method in the second mobility management node.More particularly the embodiments herein relate to handling updatedsubscriber data associated with a User Equipment (UE).

BACKGROUND

Circuit Switched (CS) FallBack (CSFB) and Single Radio Voice CallContinuity (SRVCC) are features that were introduced in Third GenerationPartnership Project (3GPP) Release 8.

The CSFB in Evolved Packet System (EPS) enables the provisioning ofvoice and other domain services by reuse of CS infrastructure when a UEis served by Evolved-Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network(E-UTRAN), i.e. using a CS network to provide voice services alongsideof an Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, i.e. a Packet Switched (PS)network. A CSFB enabled UE, connected to E-UTRAN may use GERAN or UTRANto connect to the CS domain. This function is only available in caseE-UTRAN coverage is overlapped by either GERAN coverage or UTRANcoverage. GERAN is short for GSM EDGE Radio Access Network, GSM is shortfor Global System for Mobile communications, EDGE is short for EnhancedData rates for Global Evolution and UTRAN is short for UniversalTerrestrial Radio Access Network. In other words, CSFB is a mechanismwhere the LTE network moves the UE to a legacy network which supportsvoice call. CSFB is used if the Internet protocol Multimedia Subsystem(IMS) network is not available or if the UE is not able to do Voice overLTE (VoLTE) for some reason (for example registration to the IMS networkfailed). The term VoLTE is used to describe voice and Short MessageService (SMS) in LTE. The term legacy network is used to refer to anyolder network, i.e. a network which is older than the current network, anetwork based on older network standards than the current networkstandard.

SRVCC is defined by the 3GPP as “Voice call continuity between IMS overPS access and CS access for calls that are anchored in IMS when the UEis capable of transmitting/receiving on only one of those accessnetworks at a given time”. SRVCC is a process where an active voice callin LTE is handed over to the CS domain of the legacy network. This maybe useful when the UE is in an LTE coverage area and have an activevoice call over IMS and the UE moves out of the LTE area into a legacyonly network coverage. Instead of the call getting dropped, the samewill be handed over to the CS legacy network if SRVCC is supported.

When the UE is not reachable by e.g. a PS network, the UE may be insuspend state or power saving state, or the serving mobility managementnode has cleared a Paging Proceed Flag (PPF) flag for the UE. When thePPF is cleared its value may be set to “false” or to the value 0 orsimilar which indicates that the flag is cleared. When the UE gets intosuspend state, the mobility management node (e.g. a Mobility ManagementEntity (MME) and/or a Serving General packet radio service Support Node(SGSN)) will inform the gateway node (e.g. Serving GateWay (SGW) and/orPacket data network GateWay (PGW)) about the suspension. When the UE isin suspended state, UE does not send any user data nor does the UE sendany signaling information. When the UE is in suspend state, the UE maybe unavailable in the PS domain for PS services due to that the UE is inservice in the CS domain (for a UE or network that cannot do CS and PSat the same time). The power saving state was introduced by 3GPP inRelease 12. The UE may enter power saving state on its own initiative,and the UE may wake up at the next periodic Tracking Area Update (TAU)message or the next Routing Area Update (RAU) message, or if the UE hasany uplink data or signaling to send. Information indicating that the UEis entering power saving state is not reported to gateway nodes such asthe SGW or PGW. When the UE is unreachable (i.e. not reachable) it doesnot hear any paging that is sent to it by the MME/SGSN, and willtherefore not answer. When the UE gets into a power saving state, theMME/SGSN is the only network node which holds information about the UEbeing in the power saving state. According to the existing requirement,if the MME/SGSN has received some network signaling this may triggerfurther signaling towards the unreachable UE. Such further signalingfrom the MME/SGSN towards the unreachable UE may be deemed failed.

SUMMARY

An objective of embodiments herein is therefore to obviate at least oneof the above disadvantages and to provide optimized signaling.

According to a first aspect, the object is achieved by a method in afirst mobility management node for handling updated subscriber dataassociated with a UE. The UE is currently unreachable by the firstmobility management node. The first mobility management node receives,from a subscriber database, updated subscriber data associated with theUE. At least part of the updated subscriber data is modified. Themobility management node determines that transmission of the updatedsubscriber data to a gateway node should be postponed until the UE hasbecome reachable.

According to a second aspect, the object is achieved by a method in asecond mobility management node for handling updated subscriber dataassociated with the UE. The second mobility management node determinesthat the UE has become reachable by the second mobility management node.The second mobility management node receives, from the first mobilitymanagement node, information about that there is updated subscriber datawaiting to be transmitted to the gateway node, and receives the updatedsubscriber data from the subscriber database. At least part of theupdated subscriber data is modified. The second mobility management nodetransmits the updated subscriber data to the gateway node.

According to a third aspect, the object is achieved by the firstmobility management node for handling updated subscriber data associatedwith the UE. The UE is currently unreachable by the first mobilitymanagement node. The first mobility management node is configured toreceive, from the subscriber database, updated subscriber dataassociated with the UE. At least part of the updated subscriber data ismodified. The first mobility management node is configured to determinethat transmission of the updated subscriber data to the gateway nodeshould be postponed until the UE has become reachable.

According to a fourth aspect, the object is achieved by the secondmobility management node for handling updated subscriber data associatedwith the UE. The second mobility management node is configured todetermine that the UE has become reachable by the second mobilitymanagement node. The second mobility management node is configured toreceive, from the first mobility management node, information about thatthere is updated subscriber data waiting to be transmitted to thegateway node, and to receive the updated subscriber data from thesubscriber database. At least part of the updated subscriber data ismodified. The second mobility management node is configured to transmitthe updated subscriber data to the gateway.

Since the transmission of the updated subscriber data is postponed untilthe UE is reachable, i.e. until it is able to communicate with the firstmobility management node or the second mobility management node, thesignalling from the gateway towards the UE will succeed. In other words,the signalling is optimized.

Embodiments herein afford many advantages, of which a non-exhaustivelist of examples follows:

An advantage of the embodiments herein is that they provide a mechanismto avoid extra signaling which deemed failed upon receiving updatedsubscriber data initiated by a subscriber database when the UE is notreachable, e.g. when the UE suspends its PS service, when the UE getsinto power saving mode, when the UE is out of coverage and the PPF isclear in the mobility management node. The embodiments herein avoidfurther complexities, error scenarios when the extra signaling isrejected.

The embodiments herein may be related to that a subscriber server needsto update information in several nodes in the network, such as e.g. theMME, PGW, Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) etc. Since thetransmission of the updated subscriber data is postponed until the UEbecomes reachable, an advantage of the embodiments herein is that it isless likely that is necessary to store the data in the signaling request(to re-try) due to unsuccessful outcome of the procedure.

The embodiments herein are not limited to the features and advantagesmentioned above. A person skilled in the art will recognize additionalfeatures and advantages upon reading the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments herein will now be further described in more detail inthe following detailed description by reference to the appended drawingsillustrating the embodiments and in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating embodiments of acommunications system.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating embodiments of acommunications system.

FIG. 3 is a signaling diagram illustrating embodiments of a method.

FIG. 4 is a signaling diagram illustrating embodiments of a method.

FIG. 5 is a signaling diagram illustrating embodiments of a method.

FIG. 6 is a signaling diagram illustrating embodiments of a method.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating embodiments of a method in a firstmobility management node.

FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram illustrating embodiments of thefirst mobility management node.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating embodiments of a method in a secondmobility management node.

FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram illustrating embodiments of thesecond mobility management node.

The drawings are not necessarily to scale and the dimensions of certainfeatures may have been exaggerated for the sake of clarity. Emphasis isinstead placed upon illustrating the principle of the embodimentsherein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The exemplifying embodiments herein provide a mechanism in mobilitymanagement nodes for the handling of subscriber data transmissioninitiated by a subscriber database when the UE is not reachable, e.g.when the UE gets into suspend state or power saving mode.

FIG. 1 depicts an embodiment of a communications system 100 in whichembodiments herein may be implemented. The communications system 100 mayin some embodiments apply to one or more radio access technologies suchas for example LTE, LTE Advanced, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access(WCDMA), GSM, or any other 3GPP radio access technology, or other radioaccess technologies such as e.g. Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN).

The communications system 100 seen in FIG. 1 comprises a UE 101. The UE101 may be a device by which a subscriber may access services offered byan operator's network and services outside operator's network to whichthe operator's Radio Access Network (RAN) and Core Network (CN) provideaccess, e.g. access to the Internet. The UE 01 may be any device, mobileor stationary, enabled to communicate in the communications network, forinstance but not limited to e.g. wireless device, mobile phone, smartphone, sensors, meters, vehicles, household appliances, medicalappliances, media players, cameras, Machine to Machine (M2M) device,Device to Device (D2D) device, Internet of Things (IoT) device or anytype of consumer electronic, for instance but not limited to television,radio, lighting arrangements, tablet computer, laptop or PersonalComputer (PC). The UE 101 may be portable, pocket storable, hand held,computer comprised, or vehicle mounted devices, enabled to communicatevoice and/or data, via the radio access network, with another entity,such as another device or a server.

The communications system 100 further comprises a first mobilitymanagement node 108 a and a second mobility management node 108 b. Insome embodiments, the first mobility management node 108 a is a firstMME and the second mobility management node 108 b is a second MME. Insome embodiments, the first mobility management node 108 a is a firstSGSN and the second mobility management node 108 b is a second SGSN. Insome embodiments, the first mobility management node 108 a is a firstcombined MME and SGSN node and the second mobility management node 108 bis a second combined MME and SGSN node. In some embodiments, the firstmobility management node 108 a may be referred to as an old mobilitymanagement node 108 a and the second mobility management node 108 b maybe referred to as a new mobility management node. The first mobilitymanagement node 108 a may be described as being the mobility managementnode that is currently serving the UE 101, i.e. serving the UE 101 atthe start of the method that will be described below. The secondmobility management node 108 b may be described as being the mobilitymanagement node that is serving the UE 101 after the UE 101 has movedout of coverage from the first mobility management node 108 a, e.g.after the UE 101 has been handed over to another network. In thefollowing, the reference number 108 (without the letters a and b) refersto any of the first and second mobility management nodes 108 a, 108 b.Each of the first and second mobility management nodes 108 a, 108 b maybe connected to a RAN (not shown), and the RAN may be wirelesslyconnected to and serving the UE 101. The RAN may e.g. be a GERAN a UTRANor similar, or an E-UTRAN or similar as indicated in FIG. 2.

The communications system 100 comprises at least one gateway node 110.The gateway node 110 may be a SGW, a PGW, a combined SGW and PGW node orsimilar. The properties of a SGW and PGW node will be described in moredetail below. In some embodiments, there may be two gateways 108, e.g. aSGW and a PGW. The gateway node 110 may be connected to the mobilitymanagement node 108. The gateway node 110 be connected to a RAN (notshown), and the RAN may be connected to and serving the UE 101.

A subscriber database 128 is connected to the mobility management node108. The subscriber database may be e.g. a Home Subscriber Server (HSS)or a Home Location Register (HLR). The properties of the HSS and the HLRwill be described in more detail below. The subscriber database 128comprises subscriber related information, it may perform authenticationand authorization of the user, and it may provide information about thesubscriber's location and IP information etc. The subscriber relatedinformation may be e.g. charging characteristics, access restrictions,barring information, Access Point Name (APN), Quality of Service (QoS)profile, off load permissions etc.

An overview of some possible combinations of the nodes in thecommunications system 100 in FIG. 1 are seen in Table 1 below:

TABLE 1 First mobility Second mobility management management Subscribernode 108a node 108b database 128 Gateway node 110 MME MME HSS SGW SGSNSGSN HSS SGW MME/SGSN MME/SGSN HSS SGW MME MME HSS PGW SGSN SGSN HSS PGWMME/SGSN MME/SGSN HSS PGW MME MME HSS SGW/PGW SGSN SGSN HSS SGW/PGWMME/SGSN MME/SGSN HSS SGW/PGW SGSN SGSN HLR SGW MME/SGSN MME/SGSN HLRSGW SGSN SGSN HLR PGW MME/SGSN MME/SGSN HLR PGW SGSN SGSN HLR SGW/PGWMME/SGSN MME/SGSN HLR SGW/PGW

Note that any other types of the nodes in the communications system 100in addition to the ones exemplified in table 1 above are equallyapplicable. Note that additional nodes may also be comprised in thecommunications system 100 in addition to the ones seen in FIG. 1.

A more detailed exemplary embodiment of a non-roaming architecture ofthe communications system 100 for 3GPP access will now be described withreference to FIG. 2. The exemplary embodiment in FIG. 2 is a moredetailed version of the communications system 100 seen in FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 shows an E-UTRAN 201. The E-UTRAN 201 comprises elements such asa RAN node (not shown in FIG. 2). The RAN node may be for example a basestation, e.g. such as a NodeB, an evolved NodeB (eNode B, eNB) orsimilar, or it may be a Radio Network Controller (RNC) that controls anumber of base stations or similar or any other element capable tocommunicate with a UE 101. The reference point between the UE 101 andthe E-UTRAN 101 may be referred to as LTE-Uu.

An MME 208 may be connected to the E-UTRAN 201 via the reference pointS1-MME. The MME 208 is an element having functions such as e.g.Non-Access Stratum (NAS) signalling, inter CN node signalling formobility between 3GPP access networks, UE reachability, Tracking Area(TA) list management, PGW and SGW selection, MME selection for handoverwith MME change etc. S10 is the reference point between MMEs 208 for MMErelocation and MME to MME information transfer. The MME 208 is anexample of the mobility management node 108 shown in FIG. 1.

Two gateway nodes 110 are seen in FIG. 2, i.e. the SGW 210 and the PGW215. The SGW 210 and the PGW 215 may be implemented in one physical nodeor in separate physical nodes. The SGW 210 is the gateway whichterminates the interface towards E-UTRAN 201. The reference pointbetween the SGW 210 and the E-UTRAN 201 for the per bearer user planetunneling and inter eNodeB path switching during handover may bereferred to as S1-U. The SGW 210 routes and forwards user data packets,while also acting as the mobility anchor for the user plane duringinter-eNodeB handovers and as the anchor for mobility between LTE andother 3GPP technologies (relaying the traffic between SecondGeneration/Third Generation (2G/3G) systems and the PGW 215) etc. S11 isthe reference point between the SGW 210 and the MME 208.

The PGW 215 is the gateway which terminates the SGi interface towardsthe Packet Data Network (PDN). The PDN is illustrated in FIG. 2 by theOperator's IP Services (e.g. IMS, PSS etc.) 218. IP is short forInternet Protocol and PSS is short for Packet Switched Streaming. If theUE 101 is accessing multiple PDNs, there may be more than one PGW 215for that UE 101. Functions of the PGW 215 are e.g. providingconnectivity from the UE 101 to external PDNs by being the point of exitand entry of traffic for the UE 101, performing policy enforcement,packet filtering for each user, charging support, lawful interceptionand packet screening etc. S5 is the reference point which provides userplane tunnelling and tunnel management between the SGW 210 and the PGW215.

The SGSN 220 is responsible for the delivery of data packets from and tothe UE's 101 within its geographical service area. One of the SGSN's 220functions is to provide signaling for mobility between 2G/3G and E-UTRAN201 3GPP access networks. 2G/3G access network are exemplified withGERAN 222 and UTRAN 225 in FIG. 2. Some further functions of the SGSN220 are to handle packet routing and transfer, mobility management(attach/detach and location management), logical link management, andauthentication and charging functions etc. S3 is the interface betweenthe SGSN 220 and the MME 208. S4 is a reference point between the SGSN220 and the SGW 210. S12 is the reference point between the SGW 210 andthe UTRAN 225. In some embodiments, the SGSN 220 and the MME 208 areco-located in one node. In this text, the term MME/SGSN will refer toany one of a standalone MME 208 or a standalone SGSN 220 or a combinedMME 208 and SGSN 220 node. The SGSN 220 may be an example of themobility management node 108 in FIG. 1.

The HSS 228 is a subscriber server node similar to the GSM HLR andAuthentication Centre (AuC). The HSS 228 comprises subscriber-relatedinformation (subscriber profiles), performs authentication andauthorization of the user, and may provide information about thesubscriber's location and IP information. The reference point S6aenables transfer of subscription and authentication data forauthenticating/authorizing user access to the evolved system between theMME 208 and the HSS 228. Note that the HSS 228 is only shown as anexample in FIG. 2 and that any type of subscriber database may be usedinstead of the HSS 228, such as e.g. a HLR etc. The HSS 228 is anexample of the subscriber database 128 in FIG. 1.

The PCRF 230 is a policy and charging control element. The PCRF 130encompasses policy control decision and flow based charging controlfunctionalities, it provides network control regarding the service dataflow detection, gating, QoS and flow based charging etc. The PCRF 230may be described as a functional entity which may be a standalone nodeor a function implemented in another node. The reference point Gxprovides transfer of (QoS) policy and charging rules from the PCRF 230to a Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) in the PGW 215.

Rx is the reference point which resides between the PCRF 230 and theOperator's IP Services 218. The Rx reference point is used to exchangeapplication level session information between the PCRF 230 and theApplication Function (AF) (not shown).

In some embodiments, a communications system may be divided into a RANand a CN. The RAN may be e.g. the E-UTRAN 201 and may comprise a RANnode such as e.g. the base station as described above. Using FIG. 1 asan example, the CN may comprise the mobility management node 108, thegateway node 110 and the subscriber database 128. Using the exemplaryembodiment in FIG. 2, the CN may comprise for example the MME 208, theSGW 210, the PGW 215, the SGSN 220, the HSS 228 and the PCRF 230. TheRAN and the CN may each comprises additional entities not shown in FIG.1 or 2. The CN may be a PS core network or a CS core network.

It should be noted that the communication links or reference points orinterfaces in the communications systems seen in FIGS. 1 and 2 may be ofany suitable kind including either a wired or wireless link. The linkmay use any suitable protocol depending on type and level of layer (e.g.as indicated by the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model) asunderstood by the person skilled in the art.

When the UE 101 has suspended its PS service, e.g. when the UE 101performs CSFB from E-UTRAN 201 to GERAN 222 which does not support DualTransfer Mode (DTM), the UE 101 is unable to communicate with networkentities in the PS core network. In this case it is not optimal fornetwork entities such as e.g. the HSS 128 and the PCRF 130 to initiateupdates for the UE 101 context or the active PDN connection to which inturn trigger signaling towards the UE 101 which deemed failed.

DTM mentioned above is applicable for a UE 101 that supports GPRS. DTMis a protocol based on the GSM standard that makes simultaneous transferof CS voice and PS data over the same radio channel simpler. WithoutDTM, the UE 101 must be capable of reception and transmissionsimultaneously.

The embodiments herein provide a mechanism in mobility management nodesfor the handling transmission of subscriber data when the UE 101 is notreachable, e.g. when the UE 101 gets into suspend state or in powersaving mode. At least some of the subscriber data may be changedsubscriber data.

The method for handling updated subscriber data associated with the UE101 according to some embodiments will now be described with referenceto the signaling diagram depicted in FIG. 3 with reference to FIG. 1.FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment where the UE 101 becomes, after awhile, reachable by the first mobility management node 108 a. Before thestart of the method in FIG. 3, i.e. before step 301 is performed, thefirst mobility management node 108 a has received subscriber data e.g.during initial attachment, from the subscriber database 128. Thissubscriber data may be referred to as QoS1. The UE 101 then runs payloadtransferring and suspends its PS service, i.e. it becomes unreachable.The method seen in FIG. 3 comprises the following steps, which steps mayas well be carried out in another suitable order than described below:

Step 301

The first mobility management node 108 a determines that the UE 101 iscurrently unreachable, i.e. that the first mobility management node 108a cannot reach the UE 101 at the moment. The term presently may be usedinterchangeably with the term currently. The first mobility managementnode 108 a may determine the unreachability by e.g. detecting thatsignaling transmitted to the UE 101 has not been acknowledged back tothe first management node 108 a, that the UE 101 has not sent anyperiodic TAU message, or that the UE is suspended etc. In someembodiments, the first mobility management node 108 a may storeinformation about that the UE 101 is unreachable. There may be severalreasons for that the UE 101 is unreachable by the first mobilitymanagement node 108. One reason may be that the UE 101 is in suspendstate. Other reasons may be that the UE 101 has activated power savingmode, or that the UE 101 is out of radio coverage for a certain periodof time from the first mobility management node 108 a which may resultin that a PPF associated with the UE 101 is cleared in the firstmobility management node 108 a etc.

The PPF will now be described shortly. The UE 101 makes periodic TAU inidle mode. If the UE 101 does not make any TAU or RAU, the firstmobility management node 108 may deduce that the UE 101 is unreachable.However, the first mobility management node 108 a does not know for howlong the UE 101 is unreachable, so the first mobility management node108 a shall not immediately delete the UE's bearers. Instead the firstmobility management node 108 a should clear the PPF flag in the firstmobility management node 108 a and start an Implicit Detach timer. Sothe PPF in cleared state may be described as some sort of waiting fordetaching the UE 101, and during that time the UE 101 will not be paged.

Step 302

The subscriber database 128 sends updated subscriber data to the firstmobility management node 108 a, i.e. the mobility management node 108 areceives, from the subscriber database 128, updated subscriber dataassociated with the UE 101. At least part of the updated subscriber datais modified. The updated subscriber data may be referred to as QoS2. Theupdated subscriber data QoS2 is updated compared to the subscriber dataQoS1 which the first mobility management node 108 a received before thestart of the method in FIG. 3. The subscriber database 128 may e.g. sendthe updated subscriber data upon request, on a regular basis or when thedata has been updated. In some embodiments, at least part of the updatedsubscriber data is modified subscriber data. The updated subscriber datamay comprise e.g. International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI)associated with the UE and Subscription Data. The updated subscriptiondata may comprise e.g. EPS subscribed QoS (QCI, ARP) and the subscribedAPN-AMBR. QCI is short for QoS Class Identifier, ARP is short forAllocation and Retention Priority and APN-AMBR is short for Access PointName-Aggregate Maximum Bit Rate.

Step 303

Since the first mobility management node 108 a determined in step 301that the UE is unreachable, the first mobility management node 108 a nowdetermines that the transmission of the updated subscriber data to agateway node 110 should be postponed. This may e.g. be determined by thefirst mobility management node 108 a based on that the UE 101 iscurrently unreachable as determined in step 301, possibly also based onthe reception in step 302 of updated subscriber data from the subscriberdatabase 128. The transmission of the updated subscriber data to thegateway node 110 should be postponed until the UE 101 has becomereachable, e.g. reachable by the first mobility management node 108 a.In some embodiments, it may be transmission of the parts of thesubscriber data that is modified that is postponed.

Step 304

In some embodiments, the first mobility management node 108 a sets anindication indicating that there is updated subscriber data waiting tobe transmitted to the gateway node 110, i.e. there is pending updatedsubscriber data to be transmitted to the gateway node 110. With the termpending it is meant that the updated subscriber data has been receivedby the first mobility management node 108, but that the data has notbeen further processed, i.e. it has not been further transmitted to thegateway node 110.

The indication may be e.g. in the form of a flag, an Information Element(IE) etc. More details regarding the indication will be described later.

Step 305

The first mobility management node 108 a determines that the UE 101 hasbecome reachable, i.e. reachable by the first mobility management node108 a. This may e.g. be determined by the first mobility management node108 a in that the first mobility management node 108 a pages the UE 101and receives an answer from the UE 101, or in that the first mobilitymanagement node 108 a notices that the UE 101 sends a TAU request, a RAUrequest or similar, or in that the UE 101 sends a service request orsimilar.

Step 306

The first mobility management node 108 a sends at least the part of theof the pending updated subscriber data which is modified to the gatewaynode 110. For example, if the parameters QCI, the ARP and the subscribedAPN-AMBR have been modified, at least one of these parameters are sentto the gateway node 110 in step 306. The modified part of the subscriberdata sent to the gateway node 110 in step 306 may be described asΔ=QoS1−QoS2. In addition, parts of the updated subscriber data which hasnot been modified may also be transmitted to the gateway node 110 instep 306. Note that this step 306 is only performed when the UE 101 hasbecome reachable by the first mobility management node 108 a. Anembodiment where the UE 101 has become reachable by the second mobilitymanagement node 108 b will be described below with reference to FIG. 4.

Step 307

When the at least the modified part of the updated subscriber data hasbeen sent to the gateway node 110, the first mobility management node108 a may clear the indication that was set in step 304, e.g. a flag orsimilar may be cleared.

The method for handling updated subscriber data associated with the UE101 according to some embodiments will now be described with referenceto the signaling diagram depicted in FIG. 4 with reference to FIG. 1.FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment where the UE 101 becomes, after awhile, reachable by the second mobility management node 108 b. This isdifferent compared to the signaling diagram in FIG. 3 which illustratesan embodiment where the UE 101 becomes reachable by the first mobilitymanagement node 108 a. Before the start of the method in FIG. 4, i.e.before step 401 is performed, the first mobility management node 108 ahas received subscriber data e.g. during initial attachment, from thesubscriber database 128. This subscriber data may be referred to asQoS1. The method seen in FIG. 4 comprises the following steps, whichsteps may as well be carried out in another suitable order thandescribed below:

Step 401

This step corresponds to step 301 in FIG. 3. The first mobilitymanagement node 108 a determines that the UE 101 is currentlyunreachable, i.e. that the first mobility management node 108 a cannotreach the UE 101 at the moment. The first mobility management node 108 amay determine this by e.g. detecting that signaling transmitted to theUE 101 has not been acknowledged back to the first management node 108a. In some embodiments, the first mobility management node 108 a maystore information about that the UE 101 is unreachable. There may beseveral reasons for that the UE 101 is unreachable by the first mobilitymanagement node 108. One reason may be that the UE 101 is in suspendstate. Other reasons may be that the UE 101 is out of radio coveragefrom the first mobility management node 108 a, that the UE 101 hasactivated power saving mode, or that a PPF associated with the UE 101 iscleared in the first mobility management node 108 a.etc.

Step 402

This step corresponds to step 302 in FIG. 3. The subscriber database 128sends updated subscriber data to the first mobility management node 108a, i.e. the first mobility management node 108 a receives, from thesubscriber database 128, updated subscriber data associated with the UE101. At least part of the updated subscriber data is modified. Theupdated subscriber data may be referred to as QoS2. The updatedsubscriber data is updated compared to the subscriber data QoS1 receivedbefore the start of the method in FIG. 4. The subscriber database 128may e.g. send the updated subscriber data upon request, on a regularbasis or when the data has been updated. In some embodiments, at leastpart of the updated subscriber data is subscriber data is modified. Theupdated subscriber data may comprise e.g. IMSI associated with the UEand Subscription Data. The subscription data may comprise e.g. EPSsubscribed QoS (QCI, ARP) and the subscribed APN-AMBR.

Step 403

This step corresponds to step 303 in FIG. 3. Since the first mobilitymanagement node 108 a determined in step 401 that the UE is unreachable,the first mobility management node 108 a now determines that thetransmission of the updated subscriber data to a gateway node 110 shouldbe postponed. This may e.g. be determined by the first mobilitymanagement node 108 a based on that the UE 101 is currently unreachableas determined in step 401, possibly also based on the reception in step402 of updated subscriber data from the subscriber database 128. Thetransmission of the updated subscriber data to the gateway node 110should be postponed until the UE 101 has become reachable, e.g.reachable by the second mobility management node 108 b.

Step 404

This step corresponds to step 304 in FIG. 3. In some embodiments, thefirst mobility management node 108 a sets an indication indicating thatthere is updated subscriber data waiting to be transmitted to thegateway node 110, i.e. that there are pending updated subscriber data tobe transmitted. With the term pending it is meant that the updatedsubscriber data has been received by the first mobility management node108, but that the data has not been transmitted to the gateway node 110.

The indication may be e.g. in the form of a flag, an IE etc. Moredetails regarding the indication will be described later.

Step 405

At least one of the first mobility management node 108 a and the secondmobility management node 108 a determines that the UE 101 has becomereachable, i.e. reachable by the second mobility management node 108 b.This may e.g. be determined by the mobility management node 108 a, 408 bin that the mobility management node 108 a, 108 b pages the UE 101 andreceives an answer from the UE 101, or in that the mobility managementnode 108 a, 108 b notices that the UE 101 send a TAU request, a RAUrequest or similar, or in that the UE 101 sends a service request orsimilar. Step 405 is drawn as a box covering both the first mobilitymanagement node 108 a and the second mobility management node 108 b inorder to indicate that both nodes may determine that the UE 101 hasbecome reachable. Embodiments of this step will be described in moredetail with reference to steps 605 and 606 in FIG. 6.

Step 406

The first mobility management node 108 a sends, to the second mobilitymanagement node 108 b, information about that there is pending updatedsubscriber data waiting to be transmitted to the gateway. Suchtransmitted information may be in the form of the indication set in step404.

In some embodiments, the information sent to the second mobility node108 b may be cleared in the first mobility management node 108 a afterthe information has been sent to the second mobility management node 108b.

Step 407

The second mobility management node 108 b receives pending updatedsubscriber data from the subscriber database 128. This updatedsubscriber data may be referred to as QoS2. In some embodiments, thisstep 407 is triggered by the second mobility management node 108 bsending a request for such updated subscriber data to the subscriberdatabase 128, which will be described in more detail with reference tosteps 610 and 611 in FIG. 6 below. The updated subscriber data sent tothe second mobility management node 108 b may be the same data which wassent to the first mobility management node 108 a in step 402.

Step 408

The second mobility management node 108 b sends at least part of thepending updated subscriber data to the gateway node 110. The updatedsubscriber data sent to the gateway node is the QoS2. For example, atleast one of the parameters QCI, the ARP and the subscribed APN-AMBR maybe the at least part of the pending updated subscriber data that is sentto the gateway node 110. In some embodiments, at least part of theupdated subscriber data sent to the gateway node 110 is modified, e.g.the QCI, the ARP and the subscribed APN-AMBR may be modified. Note thatthis may be different from the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, whereonly the modified part of the updated subscriber data is sent to thegateway node 110 (not necessarily all pending updated subscriber data.In this step 408 the at least part of the pending updated subscriberdata sent to the gateway node 110 is not necessarily modified, but itmight be modified.

Step 409

When at least part of the updated subscriber data has been sent to thegateway node 110, the second mobility management node 108 b may clearthe indication that was set in step 404, i.e. a flag may be cleared.

The method described above will now be described with reference to FIGS.5 and 6. The embodiments of the method in FIGS. 5 and 6 are moredetailed compared to the method illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. In FIGS. 5and 6, the mobility management nodes are exemplified by an MME 208.However, the mobility management node may also be a SGSN or a combinedMME and SGSN node. Furthermore, the subscriber database 182 isillustrated by a HSS 228 and the gateway node 110 is illustrated by acombined SGW and PGW node 210, 215. FIG. 5 refers to the case when theUE 101 returns to the same MME 208 a, while FIG. 6 refers to the casewhen the UE 101 returns to a different MME 208 b. The embodiments shownin FIGS. 5 and 6 are based on a signaling procedure specified in thechapter 5.3.9 (“HSS User Profile management function procedure”) and5.4.4.2 (“HSS Initiated Subscribed QoS Modification”) of 3GPP TS 23.401,version 12.5.0.

FIG. 5 illustrates embodiments of a method which may be described as anHSS 228 Initiated Subscribed QoS Modification for a non-reachable UE101. FIG. 5 illustrates the same case as FIG. 3, i.e. where the UE 101becomes, after a while, reachable by the first MME 208 a. Before startof the method in FIG. 5, the UE 101 has a PS service towards the firstMME 208 a. The method comprises the following steps, which steps may beperformed in any suitable order than described below:

Step 501

This step corresponds to step 301 in FIG. 3 and step 401 in FIG. 4. Thefirst MME 208 a determines that the UE 101 is currently unreachable,i.e. that the first the first MME 208 a cannot reach the UE 101. Thefirst MME 208 a may determine the unreachability by e.g. detecting thatsignaling transmitted to the UE 101 has not been acknowledged back tothe first MME 208 a, that the UE 101 has not sent any periodic TAU orRAU message, or that the UE 101 is suspended etc. In some embodiments,the first MME 208 a may store information about that the UE 101 isunreachable. There may be several reasons for that the UE 101 isunreachable by the first MME 208 a. One reason may be that the UE 101 isin suspend state. Other reasons may be that the UE 101 is out of radiocoverage from the first MME 208 a, that the UE 101 has activated powersaving mode, or that a PPF associated with the UE 101 is cleared in thefirst MME 208 a etc.

Step 502

This step corresponds to step 302 in FIG. 3 and step 402 in FIG. 4. TheHSS 228 sends an insert subscriber data message to the first MME 208 a,i.e. the first MME 208 a receives, from the HSS 228, updated subscriberdata associated with the UE 101. At least part of the updated subscriberdata may be modified. The message comprises updated subscriber dataassociated with the UE 101 such as e.g. IMSI and subscription Data. Thesubscription data may comprise e.g. EPS subscribed QoS (QCI, ARP) andthe subscribed APN-AMBR. The message indicates that the updatedsubscriber data should be inserted in the first MME 208 a. As a result,the first MME 208 a stores the received updated subscriber data suchthat the first MME 208 comprises updated subscriber data. In someembodiments, at least part of the subscriber data may be modifiedsubscriber data.

Step 503

In some embodiments, the first MME 208 a sends an Insert Subscriber DataAck message to the HSS 228. The abbreviation Ack is short forAcknowledgement. The Insert Subscriber Data Ack message may comprise theIMSI associated with the UE 101 and the result of the insertion of theupdated subscriber data in step 502, i.e. whether or not it wassuccessful.

Steps 502 and 503 may be seen as being part of a HSS User Profilemanagement function procedure.

Step 504

This step corresponds to step 303 in FIG. 3 and step 403 in FIG. 4.Since the first MME 208 a determined in step 501 that the UE isunreachable, the first MME 208 a now determines that the transmission ofthe updated subscriber data to the SGW/PGW 210, 215 should be postponed.This may e.g. be determined by the first MME 208 a based on that the UE101 is currently unreachable as determined in step 501, possibly alsobased on the reception in step 502 of updated subscriber data from theHSS 228. The transmission of the updated subscriber data to the SGW/PGW210, 215 should be postponed until the UE 101 has become reachable, e.g.reachable by the first MME 208 a.

Step 505

This step corresponds to step 304 in FIG. 3 and step 404 in FIG. 4. Insome embodiments, the first MME 208 a sets an indication indicating thatthere is pending updated subscriber data waiting to be transmitted tothe SGW/PGW 210,215. With the term pending it is meant that the data hasbeen received by the first MME 208 a but that the data has not beenfurther processed, i.e. it has not been further transmitted to theSGW/PGW 210, 215. In other words, the first MME 208 a sets informationindicating that there is a HSS initiated pending updated subscriber datatransmission, to be executed when the UE 101 becomes reachable.

The indication may be e.g. in the form of a flag, a condition, an IEetc. More details regarding the indication will be described later.

Step 506

The UE 101 resumes its PS service by sending a TAU request or a RAUrequest or a Service Request to the same MME 208 that it was served bybefore the UE 101 became unreachable, i.e. the first MME 208 a. Withthis, UE 101 has become reachable by the first MME 208 a.

Step 507

The network, i.e. the first MME 208 a accepts the TAU request or the RAUrequest or the Service Request from step 505 and sends information aboutthis to the UE 101.

Steps 506 and 507 together may be seen as an example embodiment of step305 in FIG. 3.

Step 508

This step corresponds to step 306 in FIG. 3. The first MME 208 a sends aModify Bearer Command to the SGW/PGW 210, 215. The Modify Bearer Commandcomprises at least part of the pending updated subscriber data which ismodified.

Step 509

This step corresponds to step 307 in FIG. 3. In some embodiments, thefirst MME 208 a clears the indication set in step 505 after at least themodified part of the pending updated subscriber data has been sent tothe SGW/PGW 210, 215 in step 508.

Step 510

The SGW/PGW 210, 215 may initiate a bearermodification/activation/deletion procedure if necessary based on theupdated policy decision from the PCRF 230 (the PCRF 230 is not shown inFIG. 5).

In steps 506-510 the UE 101 becomes reachable and the pending initiatedSubscriber data transmission is executed as specified in 5.4.2.2 HSSInitiated Subscribed QoS Modification in 3GPP TS 23.401.

FIG. 6 illustrates embodiments of a method which may be described as anHSS 228 Initiated Subscribed QoS Modification for a non-reachable UE101. FIG. 6 illustrates the same case as FIG. 4, i.e. where the UE 101becomes, after a while, reachable by the second MME 208 b. Before startof the method in FIG. 6, the UE 101 has a PS service towards the firstMME 208 a. The method comprises the following steps, which steps may beperformed in any suitable order than described below:

Step 601

This step corresponds to step 301 in FIG. 3, step 401 in FIG. 4 and step501 in FIG. 5. The first MME 208 a determines that the UE 101 iscurrently unreachable, i.e. that the first the first MME 208 a cannotreach the UE 101. The first MME 208 a may determine this by detectingthat signaling transmitted to the UE 101 has not been acknowledged backto the first MME 208 a, that the UE 101 has not sent any periodic TAU orRAU message, or that the UE 101 is suspended etc. In some embodiments,the first MME 208 a may store information about that the UE 101 isunreachable. There may be several reasons for that the UE 101 isunreachable by the first MME 208 a. One reason may be that the UE 101 isin suspend state. Other reasons may be that the UE 101 is out of radiocoverage from the first MME 208 a, that the UE 101 has activated powersaving mode, or that a PPF associated with the UE 101 is cleared in thefirst MME 208 a etc.

Step 602

This step corresponds to step 302 in FIG. 3, step 402 in FIG. 4 and step502 in FIG. 5. The HSS 228 sends an insert subscriber data message tothe first MME 208 a, i.e. the first MME 208 a receives, from the HSS228, updated subscriber data associated with the UE 101. At least partof the updated subscriber data is modified. Thus, the message comprisesupdated subscriber data associated with the UE 101 such as e.g. IMSI andother types of Subscriber Data. The message indicates that the updatedsubscriber data should be inserted in the first MME 208 a. As a result,the first MME 208 a stores the received updated subscriber data suchthat the first MME 208 a, comprises updated subscriber data. In someembodiments, at least part of the subscriber data is modified subscriberdata.

Step 603

This step corresponds to step 503 in FIG. 5. In some embodiments, thefirst MME 208 a sends an Insert Subscriber Data Ack message to the HSS228. The Insert Subscriber Data Ack message may comprise the IMSIassociated with the UE 101 and the result of the insertion of theupdated subscriber data.

Steps 602 and 603 may be seen as being part of a HSS User Profilemanagement function procedure.

Step 604

This step corresponds to step 303 in FIG. 3, step 403 in FIG. 4 and step504 in FIG. 5. Since the first MME 208 a determined in step 601 that theUE is unreachable, the first MME 208 a now determines that thetransmission of the updated subscriber data to the SGW/PGW 210, 215should be postponed. This may e.g. be determined by the first MME 208 abased on that the UE 101 is currently unreachable as determined in step601, possibly also based on the reception in step 602 of updatedsubscriber data from the HSS 228. The transmission of the updatedsubscriber data to the SGW/PGW 210, 215 should be postponed until the UE101 has become reachable, e.g. reachable by the first MME 208 a.

Step 605

This step corresponds to step 304 in FIG. 3, step 404 in FIG. 4 and step505 in FIG. 5. In some embodiments, the first MME 208 a sets anindication indicating that there is pending updated subscriber datawaiting to be transmitted to the SGW/PGW 210,215. With the term pendingit is meant that the data has been received by the first MME 208 a, butthat the data has not been further processed, i.e. it has not beenfurther transmitted to the SGW/PGW 210, 215. In other words, the firstMME 208 a sets information indicating that there is a HSS initiatedSubscriber data transmission that is pending, to be executed when the UE101 becomes reachable.

The indication may be e.g. in the form of a flag, an IE etc. Moredetails regarding the indication will be described later.

Step 606

The UE 101 resumes its PS service by sending a TAU request or a RAUrequest or a Service Request to a different MME 208 compared to the MME208 which the UE 101 was served by before the UE 101 became unreachable.Such different MME 208 is the second MME 208 b. With this, UE 101 hasbecome reachable by the second MME 208 b. This is an example embodimentof how the second MME 208 b determines that the UE 101 is reachable bythe second MME 208 b as described in general terms in step 404, FIG. 4above.

Step 607

The second MME 208 b sends a Context Request message to the first MME208 a, i.e. the new MME requests the UE context from the old MME. Withsuch Context Request message, the first MME 208 a receives informationabout that the UE 101 has become reachable by the second MME 208 b. Inother words, this step is an example embodiment of how the first MME 208a determines that the UE 101 is reachable by the second MME 208 b asdescribed in general terms in step 405, FIG. 4 above.

Thus, steps 606 and 607 may be seen as an example embodiment of step 405in FIG. 4.

Step 608

The first MME 208 a sends a Context Response message to the second MME208 b. The Context Response message is a response to the Context Requestmessage in step 607. The Context Response message comprises informationindicating that there is pending updated subscriber data waiting to betransmitted to the SGW/PGW 210,215. Such information may be in the formof the indication described in step 605. The indication may be a flagreferred to as a “Pending Subscriber Change Notification Indication”.

Step 609

The second MME 208 b may send a Context Acknowledgement message to thefirst MME 208 a.

Step 610

The network, i.e. the second MME 208 b accepts the TAU request or theRAU request or the Service Request from step 606 and may sendinformation about this to the UE 101.

Step 611

This step corresponds to step 407 in FIG. 4. The second MME 208 b sendsan Update Location Request message to the HSS 228. The Update LocationRequest message comprises a request for pending updated subscriber dataassociated with the UE 101.

Step 612

The HSS 228 sends an Update Location Ack message to the second MME 208b. The Update Location Ack message may be an acknowledgement of theUpdate Location Request message in step 610 acknowledging the receipt ofthe request message. The Update Location Ack message may comprise thepending updated subscriber data such as e.g. IMSI, Subscription Dataetc. The Update Location Ack message is sent by the HSS 228 after it hascancelled the entire first MME context. At least some of the data in theupdated subscriber data may be modified.

Step 613

This step corresponds to step 408 in FIG. 4. The second MME 208 b sendsa Modify Bearer Command message to the SGW/PGW 210, 215. The messagecomprises at least part of the pending updated subscriber data. In someembodiments, at least part of the pending updated subscriber data sentto the SGW/PGW 210,215 may be modified subscriber data.

Step 614

This step corresponds to step 409 in FIG. 4. In some embodiments, thesecond MME 208 b clears the indication after the pending updatedsubscriber data has been sent to the SGW/PGW 210, 215.

Step 615

The SGW/PGW 210, 215 may initiate a bearermodification/activation/deletion procedure if necessary based on theupdated policy decision from the PCRF 230 (the PCRF 230 is not shown inFIG. 6).

In steps 611-614, the pending initiated Subscriber data transmissionpending is executed by the new MME as specified in 5.4.2.2 HSS InitiatedSubscribed QoS Modification in 3GPP TS 23.401, version 12.5.0.

Indication

The indication which indicates the pending subscriber data illustratedin step 304 in FIG. 3, step 404 in FIG. 4, step 505 in FIG. 5 and step605 in FIG. 6 will now be described in more detail.

In some embodiments, a flag may be for example called “PendingSubscription Change Notification Indication” for the UE context or thePDN connection. In some embodiments, a dedicated flag may be set by thefirst mobility management node 108 a (e.g. a serving MME/SGSN) and maybe set when the first mobility management node 108 a receives asubscriber database initiated subscriber change. In some embodiments,the first mobility management node 108 a reuses the existing flagSubscribed QoS Change Indication (SQCI) with the modification ofsemantics of the flag (which is in connection with an Idle modeSignalling Reduction (ISR) functionality).

The flag “Pending Subscription Change Notification Indication” may betransmitted over the S3/S10/S16 in a message such as the ContextResponse message or similar at the UE level or per PDN connection level.This flag has the purpose of indicating to that there is a pendingsubscriber change which has not been forwarded to the gateway node 110,e.g. the PGW so that the mobility management node 108 shall send aModify Bearer Command with the subscribed QoS received from thesubscriber database 129, or reuse the existing SQCI flag with themodification of semantics of the flag (which is in connection with ISRfunctionality).

The method described above will now be described seen from theperspective of the first mobility management node 108 a. FIG. 7 is aflowchart describing the present method in the first mobility managementnode 108 a for handling updated subscriber data associated with the UE101. The UE is currently unreachable by the first mobility managementnode 108 before step 701. In some embodiments, the UE 101 is unreachablewhen the UE 101 is in suspend state or in power saving state or when aPPF associated with the UE 101 is cleared in the first mobilitymanagement node 108 a. The first mobility management node 108 a may be aMME or a SGSN or a combined MME and SGSN node. The method comprises thefollowing steps to be performed by the first mobility management node108 a, which steps may be performed in any suitable order than describedbelow:

Step 701

This step corresponds to step 302 in FIG. 3, step 402 in FIG. 4, step502 in FIG. 5 and step 602 in FIG. 6. The first mobility management node108 a receives, from a subscriber database 128, updated subscriber dataassociated with the UE 101. At least part of the updated subscriber datais modified. In some embodiments, the updated subscriber data comprisesQoS parameters or similar as indicated above in connection with step302. The subscriber database 128 may be a HSS or a HLR.

Step 702

This step corresponds to step 303 in FIG. 3, step 403 in FIG. 4, step504 in FIG. 5 and step, 604 in FIG. 6. The first mobility managementnode 108 a determines that transmission of the updated subscriber datato a gateway node 110 should be postponed until the UE 101 has becomereachable. The gateway node 110 may be a SGW or a PGW or a combined SGWand PGW node.

Step 703

This step corresponds to step 304 in FIG. 3, step 404 in FIG. 4, step505 in FIG. 5 and step 605 in FIG. 6. In some embodiments, the firstmobility management node 108 a sets an indication indicating that thereis pending updated subscriber data waiting to be transmitted to thegateway node 110.

Step 704

This step corresponds to step 305 in FIG. 3 and step 506 in FIG. 5. Insome embodiments, the first mobility management node 108 a determinesthat the UE 101 has become reachable by the first mobility managementnode 108 a.

Step 705

This step corresponds to step 306 in FIG. 3 and step 508 in FIG. 5. Insome embodiments, the first mobility management node 108 a transmits atleast the part of the pending updated subscriber data which is modifiedto the gateway node 110.

Step 706

This step corresponds to step 307 in FIG. 3 and step 509 in FIG. 5. Insome embodiments, the first mobility management node 108 a clears theindication when the at least part of the updated subscriber data whichis modified has been transmitted to the gateway node 110.

Step 707

This step corresponds to step 405 in FIG. 4. In some embodiments, thefirst mobility management node 108 a determines that the UE 101 hasbecome reachable by a second mobility management node 108 b. The secondmobility management node 108 b may be a MME or a SGSN or a combined MMEand SGSN node.

Step 708

This step corresponds to step 406 in FIG. 4 and step 608 in FIG. 6. Thefirst mobility management node 108 a transmits, to the second mobilitynode 108 b, information about that there is pending updated subscriberdata waiting to be transmitted to the gateway node 110. The informationtransmitted to the second mobility node 108 b may be an indicationindicating that there is updated subscriber data waiting to betransmitted to the gateway node 110.

To perform the method steps shown in FIGS. 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 for handlingupdated subscriber data associated with the UE 101, the first mobilitymanagement node 108 a comprises an arrangement as shown in FIG. 8. Asmentioned above, the UE 101 is currently unreachable by the firstmobility management node 108 a. In some embodiments, the UE 101 isunreachable when the UE 101 is in suspend state or in power saving stateor when a PPF associated with the UE 101 has been cleared in the firstmobility management node 108 a. The first mobility management node 108 amay be a MME or a SGSN or a combined MME and SGSN node.

The first mobility management node 108 a is configured to, e.g. by meansof a receiving module 801, receive, from a subscriber database 128,updated subscriber data associated with the UE 101. At least part of theupdated subscriber data is modified. The receiving module 801 may alsobe referred to as a receiving circuit, receiving means, receiving unit,means for receiving or an input unit. The receiving module 801 may be areceiver, a transceiver etc. The receiving module 801 may be a wirelessreceiver of the first mobility management node 108 a of a wireless orfixed communications system. The updated subscriber data may compriseQoS parameters. The subscriber database 128 may be a HSS or a HLR.

The first mobility management node 108 a is further configured to, e.g.by means of a determining module 803, determine that transmission of theupdated subscriber data to a gateway node 110 should be postponed untilthe UE 101 has become reachable. The determining module 803 may also bereferred to as a determining circuit, determining means, determiningunit, means for determining etc. The determining module 803 may be aprocessor 805 of the first mobility management node 108 a. The gatewaynode 110 may be a SGW or a PGW or a combined SGW and PGW node.

The first mobility management node 108 a may be further configured to,e.g. by means of a setting module 808, set an indication indicating thatthere is updated subscriber data waiting to be transmitted to thegateway node 110. The setting module 808 may also be referred to as asetting circuit, setting means, setting unit, means for setting etc. Thesetting module 808 may be the processor 805 of the first mobilitymanagement node 108 a.

The first mobility management node 108 a may be further configured to,e.g. by means of a clearing module 810, clear the indication when the atleast part of the updated subscriber data which is modified has beentransmitted to the gateway node 110. The clearing module 810 may also bereferred to as a clearing circuit, clearing means, clearing unit, meansfor clearing etc. The clearing module 810 may be the processor 805 ofthe first mobility management node 108 a.

In some embodiments, the first mobility management node 108 a is furtherconfigured to, e.g. by means of the determining module 803, determinethat the UE 101 has become reachable by the first mobility managementnode 108 a.

In some embodiments, the first mobility management node 108 a is furtherconfigured to, e.g. by means of a transmitting module 813, transmit atleast the part of the updated subscriber data which is modified to thegateway node 110. The transmitting module 813 may also be referred to asa transmitting unit, a transmitting means, a transmitting circuit, meansfor transmitting or an output unit. The transmitting module 813 may be atransmitter, a transceiver etc. The transmitting module 813 may be awireless transmitter of the first mobility management node 108 a of awireless or fixed communications system.

The first mobility management node 108 a may be further configured to,e.g. by means of the determining module 803, determine, that the UE 101has become reachable by a second mobility management node 108 b.

The first mobility management node 108 a may be further configured to,e.g. by means of the transmitting module 813, transmit, to the secondmobility node 108 b, information about that there is updated subscriberdata waiting to be transmitted to the gateway node 110. The informationtransmitted to the second mobility node 108 b may be an indicationindicating that there is updated subscriber data waiting to betransmitted to the gateway node 110. The second mobility management node108 b may be a MME or a SGSN or a combined MME and SGSN node.

The first mobility management node 108 a may further comprise a memory815 comprising one or more memory units. The memory 815 is arranged tobe used to store data, received data streams, power level measurements,updated subscriber data, modified subscriber data, request messages,response messages, indications, information about that the UE 101 isunreachable, threshold values, time periods, configurations,schedulings, and applications to perform the methods herein when beingexecuted in the first mobility management node 108 a.

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the receiving module801, the determining module 803, the setting module 808, the clearingmodule 810 and the transmitting module 813 described above may refer toa combination of analog and digital circuits, and/or one or moreprocessors configured with software and/or firmware, e.g. stored in amemory, that when executed by the one or more processors such as theprocessor 805 perform as described above. One or more of theseprocessors, as well as the other digital hardware, may be included in asingle application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or severalprocessors and various digital hardware may be distributed among severalseparate components, whether individually packaged or assembled into asystem-on-a-chip (SoC).

A first computer program may comprise instructions which, when executedon at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry outthe method as described in FIGS. 3-6 and 7. A first carrier may comprisethe first computer program. The first carrier may be one of anelectronic signal, optical signal, radio signal or computer readablestorage medium.

The method described above will now be described seen from theperspective of the second mobility management node 108 b. FIG. 9 is aflowchart describing the present method in the second mobilitymanagement node 108 b for handling updated subscriber data associatedwith the UE 101. The method comprises the further steps to be performedby the second mobility management node 108 b, which steps may beperformed in any suitable order than described below:

Step 901

This step corresponds to step 405 in FIG. 4 and step 606 in FIG. 6. Thesecond mobility management node 108 b determines that the UE 101 hasbecome reachable by the second mobility management node 108 b.

Step 902

This step corresponds to step 406 in FIG. 4 and step 608 in FIG. 6. Thesecond mobility management node 108 b receives, from a first mobilitymanagement node 108 a, information about that there is updatedsubscriber data waiting to be transmitted to a gateway node 110. Thereceived information may be an indication indicating that there isupdated subscriber data waiting to be transmitted to the gateway node110.

Step 903

This step corresponds to step 407 in FIG. 4 and step 611 in FIG. 6. Thesecond mobility management node 108 b receives the updated subscriberdata from a subscriber database 128. At least part of the updatedsubscriber data is modified. The updated subscriber data may compriseQoS parameters.

Step 904

This step corresponds to step 408 in FIG. 4 and step 613 in FIG. 6. Thesecond mobility management node 108 b transmits the updated subscriberdata to the gateway node 110.

Step 905

This step corresponds to step 409 in FIG. 4, step 614 in FIG. 6 and step705 in FIG. 7. In some embodiments, the second mobility management node108 b clears the indication when the updated subscriber data has beentransmitted to the gateway node 110.

In some embodiments, the first mobility management node 108 a is a MMEand the second mobility management node 108 b is a second MME. In otherembodiments, the first mobility management node 108 a is a first SGSNand the second mobility management node 108 b is a second SGSN. In yetfurther embodiments, the first mobility management node 108 a is a firstcombined MME and SGSN node and the second mobility management node 108 bis a second combined MME and SGSN node. The gateway node 110 may be aSGW or a PGW or a combined SGW and PGW node.

To perform the method steps shown in FIGS. 3, 4, 5, 6 and 9 for handlingupdated subscriber data associated with the UE 101, the second mobilitymanagement node 108 b may comprise an arrangement as shown in FIG. 10.

The second mobility management node 108 b is configured to, e.g. bymeans of a determining module 1001, determine that the UE 101 has becomereachable by the second mobility management node 108 b. The determiningmodule 1001 may also be referred to as a determining circuit,determining means, determining unit, means for determining etc. Thedetermining module 1001 may be a processor 1003 of the second mobilitymanagement node 108 b.

The second mobility management node 108 b is configured to, e.g. bymeans of a receiving module 1005, receive, from a first mobilitymanagement node 108 a, information about that there is updatedsubscriber data waiting to be transmitted to a gateway node 110. In someembodiments, the received information is an indication indicating thatthere is updated subscriber data waiting to be transmitted to thegateway node 110. The receiving module 1005 may also be referred to as areceiving circuit, receiving means, receiving unit, means for receivingor an input unit. The receiving module 1005 may be a receiver, atransceiver etc. The receiving module 1005 may be a wireless receiver ofthe second mobility management node 108 b of a wireless or fixedcommunications system.

The second mobility management node 108 b is configured to, e.g. bymeans of the receiving module 1005, receive the updated subscriber datafrom a subscriber database 128. At least part of the updated subscriberdata is modified. The updated subscriber data may comprise QoSparameters.

The second mobility management node 108 b is configured to, e.g. bymeans of a transmitting module 1008, transmit the updated subscriberdata to the gateway node 110. The transmitting module 1008 may also bereferred to as a transmitting unit, a transmitting means, a transmittingcircuit, means for transmitting or an output unit. The transmittingmodule 1008 may be a transmitter, a transceiver etc. The transmittingmodule 1008 may be a wireless transmitter of the second mobilitymanagement node 108 b of a wireless or fixed communications system.

In some embodiments, the second mobility management node 108 b isfurther configured to, e.g. by means of a clearing module 1010 clear theindication when the updated subscriber data has been transmitted to thegateway node 110. The clearing module 1010 may also be referred to as aclearing circuit, clearing means, clearing unit, means for clearing etc.The clearing module 1010 may be the processor 1003 of the secondmobility management node 108 b.

In some embodiments, the first mobility management node 108 a is a firstMME and the second mobility management node 108 b is a second MME. Inother embodiments, the first mobility management node 108 a is a firstSGSN and the second mobility management node 108 b is a second SGSN. Inyet another embodiment, the first mobility management node 108 a is afirst combined MME and SGSN node and the second mobility management node108 b is a second combined MME and SGSN node. The gateway node 110 maybe a SGW or a PGW or a combined SGW and PGW node.

The second mobility management node 108 b may further comprise a memory1013 comprising one or more memory units. The memory 1013 is arranged tobe used to store data, received data streams, power level measurements,updated subscriber data, modified subscriber data, indications,information about that the UE 101 is unreachable, threshold values,request messages, response messages, time periods, configurations,schedulings, and applications to perform the methods herein when beingexecuted in the second mobility management node 108 b.

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the determiningmodule 1001, the receiving module 1005, the transmitting module 1008 andthe clearing module 1010 described above may refer to a combination ofanalog and digital circuits, and/or one or more processors configuredwith software and/or firmware, e.g. stored in a memory, that whenexecuted by the one or more processors such as the processor 1003perform as described above. One or more of these processors, as well asthe other digital hardware, may be included in a single ASIC, or severalprocessors and various digital hardware may be distributed among severalseparate components, whether individually packaged or assembled into aSoC.

A second computer program may comprise instructions which, when executedon at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry outthe method as described in FIGS. 3-6 and 9. A second carrier maycomprise the second computer program. The second carrier may be one ofan electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal or computer readablestorage medium.

The present mechanism for handling subscriber data associated with theUE 101 may be implemented through one or more processors, such as aprocessor 805 in the first mobility management node arrangement depictedin FIG. 8 and a processor 905 in the second mobility management nodearrangement depicted in FIG. 10, together with computer program code forperforming the functions of the embodiments herein. The processor may befor example a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), ASIC processor,Field-programmable gate array (FPGA) processor or microprocessor. Theprogram code mentioned above may also be provided as a computer programproduct, for instance in the form of a data carrier carrying computerprogram code for performing the embodiments herein when being loadedinto at least one of the first mobility management node 108 a and thesecond mobility management node 108 b. One such carrier may be in theform of a CD ROM disc. It is however feasible with other data carrierssuch as a memory stick. The computer program code can furthermore beprovided as pure program code on a server and downloaded to least one ofthe first mobility management node 108 a and the second mobilitymanagement node 108 b.

The embodiments herein are not limited to the above describedembodiments. Various alternatives, modifications and equivalents may beused. Therefore, the above embodiments should not be taken as limitingthe scope of the embodiments, which is defined by the appending claims.

It should be emphasized that the term “comprises/comprising” when usedin this specification is taken to specify the presence of statedfeatures, integers, steps or components, but does not preclude thepresence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps,components or groups thereof. It should also be noted that the words “a”or “an” preceding an element do not exclude the presence of a pluralityof such elements.

The term “configured to” used herein may also be referred to as“arranged to”, “adapted to”, “capable of” or “operative to”.

It should also be emphasized that the steps of the methods defined inthe appended claims may, without departing from the embodiments herein,be performed in another order than the order in which they appear in theclaims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method in a first mobility managementnode for handling updated subscriber data associated with a UserEquipment, UE, the UE being currently unreachable by the first mobilitymanagement node and wherein the updated subscriber data comprisesQuality of Service, QoS, parameters, the method comprising: receiving,from a subscriber database, updated subscriber data associated with theUE, wherein at least part of the updated subscriber data is modified;and postponing transmission of the updated subscriber data to a gatewaynode until the UE has become reachable; determining that the UE hasbecome reachable by one of a group consisting of: the first mobilitymanagement node; and a second mobility management node; and transmittingto one of a group consisting of: to the gateway node, at least the partof the updated subscriber data which is modified; and to the secondmobility management node, information that there is updated subscriberdata waiting to be transmitted to the gateway node.
 2. The methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising: setting an indicationindicating that there is updated subscriber data waiting to betransmitted to the gateway node.
 3. The method according to claim 2,further comprising: clearing the indication when the at least part ofthe updated subscriber data which is modified has been transmitted tothe gateway node.
 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein theinformation transmitted to the second mobility node is an indicationindicating that there is updated subscriber data waiting to betransmitted to the gateway node.
 5. The method according to claim 1,wherein the UE is unreachable when the UE is in suspend state or inpower saving state or when a Paging Proceed Flag, PPF, associated withthe UE is cleared in the first mobility management node.
 6. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the first mobility management node is aMobility Management Entity, MME, or a Serving General packet radioservice Support Node, SGSN, or a combined MME and SGSN node.
 7. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the second mobility management nodeis a Mobility Management Entity, MME, or a Serving General packet radioservice Support Node, SGSN, or a combined MME and SGSN node.
 8. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the gateway node is a ServingGateWay, SGW, or a Packet data network GateWay, PGW or a combined SGWand PGW node.
 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the subscriberdatabase is a Home Subscriber Server, HSS, or a Home Location Register,HLR.
 10. A method in a second mobility management node for handlingupdated subscriber data associated with a User Equipment, UE, whereinthe updated subscriber data comprises Quality of Service, QoS,parameters, the method comprising: determining that the UE has becomereachable by the second mobility management node; receiving, by thesecond mobility management node, from a first mobility management node,an indication indicating that there is updated subscriber data, receivedby the first mobility management node, waiting to be transmitted to agateway node where a transmission of the updated subscriber data to thegateway node was postponed by the first mobility management node becausethe UE was unreachable; receiving, by the second mobility managementnode, the updated subscriber data from a subscriber database, wherein atleast part of the updated subscriber data is modified; transmitting, bythe second mobility management node, the updated subscriber data to thegateway node; and clearing, by the second mobility management node, theindication when the updated subscriber data has been transmitted to thegateway node.
 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the receivedinformation is an indication indicating that there is updated subscriberdata waiting to be transmitted to the gateway node.
 12. The methodaccording to claim 11, further comprising: clearing the indication whenthe updated subscriber data has been transmitted to the gateway node.13. The method according to claim 10, wherein the first mobilitymanagement node is a first Mobility Management Entity, MME, and thesecond mobility management node is a second MME, or wherein the firstmobility management node is a first Serving General packet radio serviceSupport Node, SGSN, and the second mobility management node is a secondSGSN, or wherein the first mobility management node is a first combinedMME and SGSN node and the second mobility management node is a secondcombined MME and SGSN node.
 14. The method according to claim 10,wherein the gateway node is a Serving GateWay, SGW, or a Packet datanetwork GateWay, PGW or a combined SGW and PGW node.
 15. A firstmobility management node for handling updated subscriber data associatedwith a User Equipment, UE wherein the updated subscriber data comprisesQuality of Service, QoS, parameters, the UE being currently unreachableby the first mobility management node, the first mobility managementnode being configured to: receive, from a subscriber database, updatedsubscriber data associated with the UE, wherein at least part of theupdated subscriber data is modified; and to postpone transmission of theupdated subscriber data to a gateway node until the UE has becomereachable; determine that the UE has become reachable by one of a groupconsisting of: the first mobility management node; and a second mobilitymanagement node; and transmit to one of a group consisting of: to thegateway node, at least the part of the updated subscriber data which ismodified; and to the second mobility management node, information thatthere is updated subscriber data waiting to be transmitted to thegateway node.
 16. The first mobility management node according to claim15, being further configured to: set an indication indicating that thereis updated subscriber data waiting to be transmitted to the gatewaynode.
 17. The first mobility management node according to claim 16,being further configured to: clear the indication when the at least partof the updated subscriber data which is modified has been transmitted tothe gateway node.
 18. The first mobility management node according toclaim 15, wherein the information transmitted to the second mobilitynode is an indication indicating that there is updated subscriber datawaiting to be transmitted to the gateway node.
 19. The first mobilitymanagement node according to claim 15, wherein the UE is unreachablewhen the UE is in suspend state or in power saving state or when aPaging Proceed Flag, PPF, associated with the UE is cleared in the firstmobility management node.
 20. The first mobility management nodeaccording to claim 15, wherein the first mobility management node is aMobility Management Entity, MME, or a Serving General packet radioservice Support Node, SGSN, or a combined MME and SGSN node.
 21. Thefirst mobility management node according to claim 15, wherein the secondmobility management node is a Mobility Management Entity, MME, or aServing General packet radio service Support Node, SGSN, or a combinedMME and SGSN node.
 22. The first mobility management node according toclaim 15, wherein the gateway node is a Serving GateWay, SGW, or aPacket data network GateWay, PGW or a combined SGW and PGW node.
 23. Thefirst mobility management node according to claim 15, wherein thesubscriber database is a Home Subscriber Server, HSS, or a Home LocationRegister, HLR.
 24. A second mobility management node for handlingupdated subscriber data associated with a User Equipment (UE), whereinthe updated subscriber data comprises Quality of Service, QoS,parameters, the second mobility management node being configured to:determine that the UE has become reachable by the second mobilitymanagement node; receive, by the second mobility management node, from afirst mobility management node, an indication indicating that there isupdated subscriber data, received by the first mobility management node,waiting to be transmitted to a gateway node where a transmission of theupdated subscriber data to the gateway node was postponed by the firstmobility management node because the UE was unreachable; receive, by thesecond mobility management node, the updated subscriber data from asubscriber database, wherein at least part of the updated subscriberdata is modified; transmit by the second mobility management node, theupdated subscriber data to the gateway node; and clear, by the secondmobility management node, the indication when the updated subscriberdata has been transmitted to the gateway node.
 25. The second mobilitymanagement node according to claim 24, wherein the received informationis an indication indicating that there is updated subscriber datawaiting to be transmitted to the gateway node.
 26. The second mobilitymanagement node according to claim 25, being further configured to:clear the indication when the updated subscriber data has beentransmitted to the gateway node.
 27. The second mobility management nodeaccording to claim 24, wherein the first mobility management node is afirst Mobility Management Entity, MME, and the second mobilitymanagement node is a second MME, or wherein the first mobilitymanagement node is a first Serving General packet radio service SupportNode, SGSN, and the second mobility management node is a second SGSN, orwherein the first mobility management node is a first combined MME andSGSN node and the second mobility management node is a second combinedMME and SGSN node.
 28. The second mobility management node according toclaim 24, wherein the gateway node is a Serving GateWay, SGW, or aPacket data network GateWay, PGW or a combined SGW and PGW node.